`Christmas Carol’ a gift

Hold no pity in ye heart for Ebenezer Scrooge; save your condolences for the Salvation Army, which hasn’t yet thought of placing a shiny red bucket outside the Penobscot Theatre.

Who better to solicit Christmas-time collections from, after all, than the newly replenished souls who have just witnessed Scrooge’s transformation from miserly curmudgeon to giddy philanthropist?

If the written version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” isn’t enough to put you in the holiday mood, then the Penobscot Theatre’s rendition of the classic tale surely is.

For the third year running, Stephen McLaughlin reprises the lead role, and turns in a convincing performance as Scrooge.

The theater seems to chill when Scrooge and Cratchit shiver from the draft as they labor at their desks. And who would dare beg for a shilling when Scrooge cocks an eye, smirks, and taunts his nephew, “What reason ‘ave ye to be merry? What right have ye to be merry — yew’re poor enough.”

Up to the final bow, McLaughlin is Scrooge — bent with bitterness, bleeding humor from others’ misery.

Until, that is, Jacob Marley returns after seven years in the great beyond to visit his dear friend and business partner.

“HAAAHHHHHH!!!,” Marley screams as he zooms overhead, scaring the bah-humbug out of Scrooge, and inaugurating his conversion to nice guy.

Marley’s flying, always a treat for the audience, is handled this year by a pulley-type apparatus that allows him to twist and turn overhead as he rattles both his chains and Scrooge’s mind.

Though rather simple, the harness is the most complex part of the set, which is stripped down to wooden steps that flank a street corner — Exchange Street and Dickens Way — and lead to Scrooge’s bedroom.

It is from these steps that the cast does most of its work. Although the play condenses Dickens’ short book into little more than an hour of script, artistic director Mark Torres is able to pull it off by mixing the traditional with the modern.

The words spoken by the characters are pure Dickens, yet the story is told in part by something of a Greek chorus — cast members, dressed in black, acting, chanting, whispering lines and scenery descriptions. Though somewhat different, this is an innovation that keeps the play moving.

A lack of action, though, is rarely a concern for anyone watching the play: Besides McLaughlin, Michael Vicious turns in a strong performance as the ghost of Marley, and they are supported by equally enjoyable offerings from Brownwyn Kortge as Belle, Alex Bennett as Tiny Tim, Lani Corson as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Stevie Dunham as Little Fan, Julie Lisnet as Mrs. Cratchit, Peter Clain as Bob Cratchit, Pam Carr as Ghost of Christmas Present, among others.

“A Christmas Carol” will be performed Dec. 10-23 at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, 8 p.m. on Fridays, 5 and 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2 and 5 p.m. on Sundays. During the final week, Dec. 19-23, performances will be held at 7 p.m. For tickets, call the Penobscot Theatre at 942-3333.